


Put Down the Bomb and Step Away From the Rhino

by st_aurafina



Category: Standoff
Genre: F/M, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-07
Updated: 2009-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-04 10:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_aurafina/pseuds/st_aurafina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Matt and Cheryl's last case together as partners, they must negotiate for the life of an unusual hostage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Put Down the Bomb and Step Away From the Rhino

"The African White Rhino is a herbivore, but that doesn't mean he won't display threat behavior if he feels unsettled."

Matt shifted uncomfortably; the orange plastic bucket chairs in the zoo's educational center were not terrifically welcoming, and he was having trouble concentrating on the briefing.

"Stop fidgeting." Cheryl's ability to speak without moving her lips was endlessly fascinating. Matt decided he'd much rather watch her lips anyway, and tilted his head sideways to look at his partner. Unlike Matt, Cheryl sat in her plastic chair with elegant ease.

"Threat behavior in ungulates is pretty identifiable, they have body language just like humans." The zoo-keeper paused in her briefing, and clutched her hands together nervously like a worried mother."See, when Boris gets agitated, he kind of rubs his horn along the ground."

Behind him, Matt heard Frank snort, and he pressed his lips together. Cheryl shifted one foot slightly, so that the pointed toe of her shoe was digging into Matt's calf. "Concentrate." Her lips moved more this time, and Matt was riveted.

"So, um," Carlie the zoo-keeper, who couldn't be older than twelve years old, surely, not with those freckles, had one of those pony-tails that swung from side to side. It caught Matt's eyes, and he watched it swing. Right-left. Right-left. Just like a hypnotist's watch. "So, he's pretty upset, you know, since that man climbed into his enclosure. He's not going to hurt anyone, not just yet, but he's edgy."

"Right," Cheryl stood up, and addressed the group. "Here's the summary: the HT is Travis McKinney, 23, possibly mentally ill, definitely unstable. We've identified a home-made explosive device strapped to his chest, armed with a dead man's trigger. I'll stress this now: no stop shots, the device is wired to blow if he lets go of that trigger." She nodded towards Frank who was shaking his head disparagingly. "Yes, once again, let's praise the internet for making this kind of technology available to civilians. Remember, environmental activists are passionate, and that means unpredictable. And we've got an unusual situation here: the hostage is as dangerous as the HT. We're going to keep it quiet, calm and non-combative as long as possible."

Eyes narrowed right across the unit, Matt's included. Cheryl's promotion hadn't been officially announced, but everyone was aware that this would be one of the last times that she was a workmate and not a superior. Matt was wary. It was an unstable situation, and in a hostage situation, nobody wanted to waste time sorting out badly defined roles. Matt didn't like a lot of things about this promotion, but losing Cheryl as a partner was the worst.

Briefing over, everyone filed out of the education center. Matt waited for Cheryl to go first, then walked just behind her. "So, are we going to talk about last night?"

"Nothing to talk about," Cheryl slid on a headset, and strode off to inspect the perimeter.

***

Matt stretched his legs as he leaned back on the park bench next to the giraffe enclosure. It was actually a pretty nice day at the zoo; not too hot, not too crowded now that it had been evacuated.

Zoo admin had positioned the team outside the Ungulate Range, within view of Boris the Rhino's pen, at a distance that the explosives team had assessed as safe. Boris was relatively calm at the moment, but he seemed unhappy about the stranger in his pen, and lurked unwillingly in one corner, unable to move away without passing close to Travis. Travis, in a dirty Greenpeace t-shirt to which he'd taped his explosive device, rocked from foot to foot. Over the headset Frank had thrown into the pen, Matt could hear him singing 'Go Tell It on the Mountain', softly and out of key. His hold on reality was shaky; his words were slurred and his voice dry.

The Ungulate Habitat was lushly planted with shrubs and trees, and Frank had happily scattered his team amongst the heavy foliage that bordered every fence of the pen. He was, himself, comfortably ensconced in a palm tree that gave him a good view of the whole area. Zoo employees, including Carlie the rhino keeper, had been excluded from the area by a line of police tape, but they lined the perimeter nervously. There was clearly a strong camaraderie between the keepers.

Beside Matt on the bench, Cheryl leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, talking softly with Travis' doctor as they all waited for the next communication. Matt resisted the urge to reach out and tuck a sleek strand of hair behind her ear. That kind of intimate gesture was unprofessional. Also, Cheryl would beat the crap out of him. His headset crackled into life again, and as his posture changed, the entire team leaned forward. Zookeeper Carlie chewed on a thumb nail incessantly.

"Matt, are you there?" Travis was sounding ever more shaky. "I've changed my mind. I can do that, right? I think I need to word this better. Tell them I want a guarantee that the US government will open a dialogue with China on a serious investigation of rhino horn traffic. That sounds more professional, right?" Travis walked in tight circles as he spoke, but, as he'd been directed by Matt, he remembered to keep his voice low. Matt could hear the heavy breathing of the rhino over the mike, but a quick check showed that the animal was standing still.

"I understand, Travis, the wording is important," Matt leaned back on the park bench and stared down a giraffe leaning with casual grace across the wide expanse between it and the public. "You want people to take you seriously, we all want that. How about you take a few steps back, and give Boris some space."

"Don't call him that! Anthropomorphism is demeaning!" Travis' voice was hoarse now; they'd been negotiating for an hour in the afternoon sun.

Cheryl scribbled something on her notepad and held it up for Matt to see: physical needs.

Matt raised his eyebrows at her, and looked ostentatiously around them. He pointed to the park bench and mouthed "Right here?" She gave him a murderous look and he held up his hands in surrender then clicked open a line on his headset. "Hey, Travis, you're sounding a little parched. Can we get you some water? Maybe something to eat? You might want to consider the physical needs of the rhinoceros, I'm sure you know he's going to be wanting to move around, get some food."

"I don't know. I just, you know, I want things to be okay." Travis stopped pacing and stared off into the distance. The hand not clutching the dead man's trigger was trembling. "You think I'm crazy, I know. But sometimes, when everything's up in the air, it forces you to make decisions you never even considered possible" He reached out to stroke the hide of the rhinoceros, and Boris took two very nimble steps sideways with an anxious snort.

"Hey, now." Matt held out a hand in a placating gesture. "Remember, we agreed that it was best that B... that the rhinoceros not have any direct contact with humans? How about you take a step back now."

Frank tipped his head in Cheryl's direction, and she shook her head, waving him down. She leaned across and put her hand over Matt's mike. "We need to get him down, soon. He's been without his meds for nearly forty eight hours. His doctor says that he'll be experiencing withdrawal symptoms soon, and that means tremors. We don't want tremors, Matt. Tremors lead to a big bang and a dead rhino. Above and beyond what this might imply about the relative value of a human life, a dead rhino does not look good on the news."

"I've got a good rapport going, I think I can talk him down. And we need to talk, too."

"Save the rhinoceros," said Cheryl. "Then we'll talk."

***

Negotiations had reached that inevitable still point where all the activity was happening back at base. Matt and Travis had reached an agreement: Travis would be given a contact list on which to base a vicious letter writing campaign; in return, he would give up his explosive device and vacate the rhino pen. All that remained now was to make the transfer, which was made more complicated by the trigger Travis had built. As the team prepared, Travis sat in the dust of the rhinoceros' pen, legs sprawled like a spider but, as instructed, his trigger hand clearly visible. Matt kept their contact low-key: a wave or a word on the headset. Travis was exhausted, and Boris the rhino increasingly agitated.

Back behind the perimeter, the rest of the team scrambled; the explosives experts were climbing into their protective gear and Frank had pulled most of his people back. Matt wasn't needed right now, so he turned away from the hive of activity that Cheryl had set into action at the fence line and viewed the empty park.

The zoo may have been evacuated, but the hot dogs were still hot on the stand. While they were waiting for Bomb Disposal to get their gear into position, Matt helped himself to a dog, slathered on the mustard, and stuffed a few bills into the money drawer. He flopped back down on the bench and offered the hot dog to Cheryl. She held up her hand in a polite refusal, and Matt took a big bite, settling back against the bench to chew with satisfaction.

"We don't need a big heart-to-heart about last night." Cheryl sat upright, a clear space between her back and the bench."It was what it was – an impulse we shouldn't have acted on, but we did. And it was good. But it can't happen again." She crossed her arms and stared off at the giraffes pulling great mouthfuls from a hay bale.

Matt nodded and chewed thoughtfully, appreciating that Cheryl had the forethought to ambush him while his mouth was crammed full of hot dog. When he could speak without choking, he drew his feet up onto the bench, turning sideways and sitting cross-legged so he could look at her. "You know, it doesn't have to be this big thing. It was good." He rolled his eyes and gestured with the hot dog. "What am I saying? It was great. Who's to say that it wouldn't be great again?"

Cheryl grabbed Matt's chin in a pistol-grip and stared into his eyes. "Let me count the ways: my promotion, your commitment phobia, the FBI's protocols on liaisons between agents, and let's face it, our sanity at large. We are not a good thing, Matt. We are going to hurt each other and hurt our careers." Her fingers lingered against his jaw for a moment longer than it was necessary to make her point. Matt took a breath in and blinked. Cheryl narrowed her eyes. Matt's headset beeped, and Cheryl snapped her hand back against her body.

Matt picked up the headset and slipped it over his head. "This is Flannery." He put his hand over the mike and leaned towards Cheryl. "_My_ commitment phobia?"

"Bomb unit's in place. We're ready to move." Matt could tell from Frank's voice that he was laughing. "And, uh, I'm reporting no horn action on the rhino."

***

"So, Travis. We're all in place. You ready to do this?" Matt gave Travis a wave, and he gestured back with a nervous thumbs up.

Cheryl gave the explosives team a nod, and Frank and his two men in protective gear carefully entered the pen to cover Travis and take custody of the trigger. Boris stamped his feet at the approach of these new intruders, but they'd all been briefed by Carlie, and moved in slow, fluid steps, silent and low to the ground.

Matt covered his mike and leaned across to Cheryl. "Sam Weaver doesn't get a mention on that list?"

Cheryl gave him a look of betrayal, then turned back to watch the exchange. Travis was carefully handing the trigger over to the first explosive expert.

"Don't get me wrong," Matt kept talking, though Cheryl wasn't looking in his direction. "I hate the guy, and I'd cheerfully kick him off a cliff for the way he treated you. Just, that's a big part of your life, Cheryl, don't try to write it out of existence." He glanced around; the whole team was focused on activity in the rhino pen. He stepped up behind Cheryl, close enough that he could touch her at the small of her back. Sandwiched between their bodies, his hand was shielded from discovery. He spread his fingers wide, and stroked the skin through her shirt. "You don't need to be ashamed for seeking comfort. I know what it means, and I'm flattered. That kind of trust is a huge compliment. I'm just saying that, you know, it could be more than that. Don't write us off."

Cheryl's hand slipped behind her back and under Matt's. In the rhino pen, a second bomb disposal specialist eased the explosives vest from Travis' body and gingerly carried it towards the fence line. Frank put his hand on Travis' shoulder to escort him from the enclosure, but Travis turned and broke away. He took two stumbling steps towards the rhino, arms outstretched as if to embrace the animal. Matt snatched his hand away from Cheryl's warm skin and back to his earpiece. "Travis, no, wait! Stand still!"

Frank had Travis yoked and pinned in a blink, but the damage was done: Boris snorted and took a step forward, tail lashing, then bent one knee to drive his horn against the ground in an aggressive gesture that was much less hilarious than it had sounded in the briefing. The rhino paused for a moment then thundered towards Travis, who was squirming and shrieking in Frank's grip. Frank was even faster, though, and neatly lifted Travis out of the path of the angry animal. Deprived of the nearest target, Boris turned remarkably fast and bore down on the explosives expert who was carrying Travis' home-made bomb. For a horrible moment, Matt could see the indecision in the eyes of the man holding the vest: should he throw it? Where was safe? And then what? Death by rhinoceros?

A low chirruping came from the fence line, and everyone's attention swung that way. Carlie, the zookeeper with the perky ponytail, crouched by the fence with a carrot in her hand. "Boris! Boris, sweetie! Look, look what I have for you!" Boris slowed his pace to a jig-trot, then sidled up to the fence, snorting and rolling his eyes. Carlie cooed to him, and held the carrot out, coaxing him closer with chirrups and soft words while the explosives team scrambled for the fence.

With the explosive device and trigger secured, the pen's gate closed and Travis cuffed, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Matt caught Cheryl's eye. "See? Love can win out, despite all the obstacles."

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "And I suppose that if you're the rhinoceros in this analogy, I'm the girl with the carrot? And based on this, you think we can have a healthy relationship." She shook her head, and walked off to move the team towards debrief. She was smiling as she walked, though. Matt considered that a good sign.

***

Carlie and her colleagues were tearful with thanks. Frank had the mother of all stories to tell at the bar. Travis was back in the hospital, taking his medication and frantically writing letters to people who could help save the rhinoceros. And at the end of the day, Matt and Cheryl had an empty office and a couple of beers. Cheryl sat on the desk. Matt lounged in his chair.

"Well, that was a doozy." Matt spun his chair idly with one toe. "You don't get to say you faced down a rhino every day."

"Why do you do that?" Cheryl said, rolling the dark green bottle between her hands. At Matt's expression of query, she shrugged a shoulder. "Back at the zoo, you waited until the hand-off to talk about Sam. You do that a lot: wait until the worst possible moment to bring up something really important."

Matt raised his eyebrows, then took a long sip from his bottle and waited till Cheryl was doing the same. "Oh, I learned that one from you."

Cheryl coughed on her beer. "No, you did not."

"Yeah, I did." Matt spun his chair in a complete circle, tilting his head over the back so he could look at her upside down. "It's just, I don't know. It's a fascination with catalysts, maybe. It breaks down barriers, keeps you on edge, forces you to be courageous. All that psych stuff we learn."

Cheryl put a hand out to break the spin of Matt's chair. Her hand rested very comfortably against his temple, and Matt leaned his head against her fingers, smiled as they curled through his hair. "In a couple of weeks, I'm going to be your boss. We'll have to stop."

"I can live with that." Matt walked his chair backwards until he could lean his head against her knees. "And you never know what's going to happen in the future. I could be the one."

Cheryl pushed her hands through his hair and down his neck, slipping under the collar of his t-shirt. "You so are not the one."

"Then," Matt pulled her down onto the chair with him, so he could kiss her collar bone, "I suppose you'll have to interview me a replacement." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "You'll find the right person. I trust you."


End file.
